Page 59 of Shades of Mercy
“Town?” The word popped off his tongue.
She grabbed a pair of jeans and shook them out, sending the air whipping around her. “I don’t know if she's taking the cook’s position seriously because she spends a lot of time sitting behind a computer at the office, and when she's not there, she's gallivanting around with Bones."
“Town,” Jess groaned.
“Bones took her?”
“You must think I spy on everyone.” She sighed. “I was hanging laundry when I saw them leave. Now are we done? This laundry won’t wash itself.”
Jag left Jess alone before she bit his head off.
Some of the joy he was feeling faded into…what?
So what happened to that diplomatic thinking of sacrificing his desires for Mercy’s happiness? The woman infuriated him, yet she’d also managed to needle her way into every layer of his being. He couldn’t tell if he was angrier because she left the ranch or that she was with Bones, and only one of the reasons had validation. Or maybe he was too uptight.
The fact was, he’d brought this all onto himself.
So busy counting the stars, he’d missed the moon.
Chapter Seventeen
Mercy stepped into the cottage and listened. It was eerily quiet.
The sun was setting, and shadows had crept into every corner.
She flipped on the lamp and saw Jag. He sat in the chair, his feet propped on the corner of the coffee table, and a beer tucked between his knees. He was shirtless and his jeans were unbuttoned.
He looked tired and irritated. No surprise.
“You didn’t come to dinner, so I brought you a plate, Grumpy Sunshine.” She knew going to town might ruffle his feathers, but she didn’t see the logic behind his attitude.
He continued to stare at her.
“Are you angry because I had Bones help me pick up supplies? After all, you did ask him to babysit me, as if I were a third grader. Have you even stopped to think that you make me look incapable of taking care of myself?”
“Why would I be angry?” he said in a monotone voice.
“Great. You’re not angry.” She took off her shoes and wanted to fling one at his head. “How wasyourday?”
“Peachy.”
She sat down on the edge of the sofa cushion. Although she felt his attitude wasn’t justified, she felt proud of him. “The crew was saying you rescued that kid. He’s safe because you risked your life. That’s amazing, Jag. Are you celebrating?” She glanced at the empty beer bottles on the coffee table.
He set his half-full bottle next to the chair. “There’s no celebration in doing the right thing,” he said in a low, husky tone.
“For someone who isn’t angry, you sure have an angry aura surrounding you.”
“I’m not angry. I’m in my head. I want to be alone.” One corner of his mouth lifted.
“Really?”
“Yea.”
“That’s kind of hard in this little house.” She sighed. “You’re being ridiculous.”
He rubbed his forehead. “What you call ridiculous, I call keeping you safe.”
“So we’re back to that, huh? Iwasbeing safe. Good thing Bones was there to make sure those little old ladies at the market didn’t whip out their guns.”
